Windows 11 Search Not Working? Try These Fixes

Common causes

• Indexing that’s still adding new or recently changed files
• Indexing paused to conserve battery power
• A PC too busy to index because of high disk or CPU use
• Low memory or too little free disk space for indexing
• Indexing paused by another app, such as during Game mode
• A Windows Search service turned off by some antivirus or “Optimize your PC” apps
• Too many indexed items or a very large Outlook mailbox
• File contents left out of the index, so only names and properties are searchable

Step-by-Step Solutions

Start with the quick steps at the top, try searching again after each one, and leave rebuilding the index and resetting Windows Search for last.

1. 1

   Step 1: Restart your PC

   Restarting your PC also installs any pending updates.

   Restart your PC, then try searching again.

2. 2

   Step 2: Check for Windows updates

   Installing the latest updates is one of Microsoft’s recommended fixes for search problems.

   Select Start, then Settings, then Windows Update, then Check for Windows updates.

   If any updates are available, select Download & install. If you’re prompted to, restart your PC to apply them.

3. 3

   Step 3: Restart Windows Search

   Ending the SearchHost.exe process stops Windows Search, and it starts again the next time you search.

   Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then select Task Manager. In Task Manager, select Details.

   In the Name column, right-click SearchHost.exe and select End task. If you’re asked to confirm, select End process.

   Windows Search starts again automatically the next time you search.

4. 4

   Step 4: Restart Windows Font Cache Service

   Microsoft notes that restarting this service sometimes resolves Windows Search issues.

   In the search box on the taskbar, enter services.msc to open the Services console. In the right pane, right-click Windows Font Cache Service and select Stop.

   Try to search again. Then, in the Services console, right-click Windows Font Cache Service and select Start.

5. 5

   Step 5: Check the indexing status

   If search opens but misses files, the indexing status tells you whether Windows has finished indexing.

   Open Settings, select Privacy & security, then Searching Windows, and check your search indexing status. When indexing has finished, it shows Indexing complete.

   If you see a different message, here’s what to do:

   • “Indexing in progress. Search results might not be complete during this time.” Windows is adding new files to the index, which could take a few hours. Leave your PC turned on and connected to power.
   • “Indexing is paused to conserve battery power.” Connect your PC to power and charge the battery. Indexing resumes after the battery has sufficiently charged.
   • “Indexing is waiting for computer to become idle.” Your PC is too busy to keep indexing. If disk or CPU use is high, indexing stops to leave room for what you’re doing.
   • “Insufficient memory to continue indexing. Search results might not be complete.” Use Task Manager to find apps that use a lot of memory and close them if you can.
   • “Insufficient disk space to continue indexing. Search results might not be complete.” Make sure there’s more than 1 GB of free space on the disk.
   • “Indexing is paused by an external application.” Make sure your PC isn’t in Game mode, then restart the Windows Search service in Task Manager or services.msc.
   • “Indexing is paused.” Indexing was paused from the Windows Search settings page and resumes 15 minutes later. To resume sooner, restart the Windows Search service.

   Good to know

   When you first run indexing, it can take up to a couple hours to complete. After that, it runs in the background and only re-indexes updated data.

6. 6

   Step 6: Make sure your folders are indexed

   Search only finds files quickly in the locations Windows indexes.

   Open Settings, select Privacy & security, then choose Search. Under Find my files, Windows offers two search indexing modes: Classic and Enhanced.

   Classic indexes your Documents, Pictures and Music folders plus the desktop by default. To add another location, select Customize search locations, then select Modify and select the folders you want to add.

   Enhanced indexes your entire PC, including all user folders and files. It gives more comprehensive search results but may use more system resources.

   Good to know

   If you can find a file by name but not by words inside it, check how that file type is indexed. In Indexing Options, select Advanced, then the File Types tab, select the file type and choose an option under How should this file be indexed?

7. 7

   Step 7: Check the Windows Search service

   If indexing isn’t running, the Windows Search service may be stopped or turned off.

   If you just upgraded Windows, wait five minutes for the Windows Search service to start. The service pauses during an upgrade.

   Otherwise, open services.msc and scroll to Windows Search. It should show Status: Running and Startup Type: Automatic (Delayed Start). To change its settings, right-click Windows Search and select Properties.

   Some antivirus programs and “Optimize your PC” apps turn off the Windows Search service. Microsoft recommends not running such apps if you want to use Search, or checking the service after you run them.

8. 8

   Step 8: Rebuild the search index

   Rebuilding makes Windows create the index again, which can take up to 24 hours.

   To check how many items are indexed, open Settings, select Privacy & security, then Searching Windows, and check the value of Indexed. If more than 400,000 items are indexed, you may begin to see performance issues. To index fewer items, select Add an excluded folder on the same page, then select a folder to exclude.

   To rebuild the index, open Settings, select Privacy & security, then Searching Windows, then Advanced indexing options. Select Advanced, then Rebuild.

   Let the Indexer run for up to 24 hours to rebuild the index.

   Good to know

   By default, Outlook mailboxes on your PC are indexed too. A mailbox with more than 6 million items can slow the Indexer down.

9. 9

   Step 9: Reset Windows Search

   Microsoft’s PowerShell script resets Windows Search without affecting your files.

   Resetting Windows Search doesn’t affect your files, but it may temporarily affect the relevance of search results. You need administrator permissions, and the PowerShell execution policy must be set to Unrestricted for the script to run.

   Open an elevated PowerShell window and run Get-ExecutionPolicy. If the result isn’t Unrestricted, write down the value, then run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted. A warning explains the security risks of this change; to accept it, press Y, then Enter. Close the PowerShell window.

   Download ResetWindowsSearchBox.ps1 from Microsoft’s Reset Windows Search PowerShell script page and save it to a local folder. Right-click the file, select Run with PowerShell and select Yes if Windows asks “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”

   When the word Done appears, set the execution policy back if you changed it. Keep the window open, press any key, then run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy followed by the value you wrote down. Press Y, then Enter, and close the window.

   Good to know

   If you see a message like “Cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system,” the execution policy isn’t set correctly. Check it again and rerun the script. On a work or school PC where scripts are blocked, contact your administrator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related guides

• Windows UpdateWindows Update Not Working? Try These FixesRun the Windows Update troubleshooter, check your connection, free up space, fix drivers and date settings, clear the update cache, and repair or reinstall Windows.